not starting

[greatdane]

Afternoon all 

My greentech citigo is having a strange day

Car is 62 plate had it from new no issues until now 

got in to start car lights flashing on dash plus won't even crank over and even with keys out of ignition it make a constant clicking noise from dash / key area,, the doors would not even open had to use the key not the fob 

plugged in my c-tek charger and its saying it needs 8 hours plus so don't know if this is the problem and it needs a new battery 

Has any body else had this 

[KenONeill]

@greatdane When you try to start it, is there a "clunk" sound from about the starter motor?

[greatdane]

There are clicking noises from ignition without even key in but just checked and starter doing nothing , checked battery and now fully charged 

[Clockworks]

Not had this on my Citigo, but I've had similar problems with a Mini Cooper, BMW 525 and an MX-5.  In each case a new battery fixed it.  These cars were all 7 or 8 years old when the batteries failed.

 

Even though the battery shows as charged on your c-tek, it may have a problem under load (internal partial short on one or more cells), so it's worth getting the battery tested. If you have a multimeter, try testing the battery voltage with the ignition switched off, and again with it switched on. A fully-charged battery should show 12.6v.

 

Another possibility is a damaged or loose earth strap.

[greatdane]

Thanks will check this 

[freemansteve]

You are most likely to have a dying battery, or poor/corroded battery terminal connections, or poor continuity on the earth strap bolted to the body.

 

The least likely thing is going to be the starter motor as such, but it could be a sticking solenoid.

 

[Breezy_Pete]

Must be an ignition switch fault, I think, if stuff is clicking even with key out?

[freemansteve]

Bear in mind, on unlocking the car, several systems are activated in advance of starting the engine.

Some of these may well be controlled via a relay....

A relay that is faulty - or does not have enough battery power to properly switch its state - can click on and off.  -> As a load gets switched on by a relay, the battery volts can drop enough to de-energise the relay, but then volts increase, and the relay switches on again and you can get a cycle.